


Under shady trees, nothing but a warm soft breeze

by BadWolfKnight1986



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Just like arthur although he doesnt know it, M/M, Nature being in love with Merlin, Wholesome, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 19:47:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29424039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadWolfKnight1986/pseuds/BadWolfKnight1986
Summary: Nature loving Merlin in moments through time. Told through both Merlin and Arthur's perspective.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 107





	Under shady trees, nothing but a warm soft breeze

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mmmmay](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mmmmay/gifts).



> For May
> 
> I'm sorry if this is a bit rushed! I am busy with school but really wanted to participate and give you something. I know it's not super romance based but I hope it is still enjoyable. 
> 
> Happy Valentines day!
> 
> (As always, the title is from a song. Northern Italy by Margaux Beylier <3 )

When Merlin was 8, he had fallen out of a tree and broken his arm. He remembered crying and wailing for hours until he realised, he had wondered too far and that no one was coming for him.

He had been scared and confused but determined. He had picked himself up with his good arm braced on the trunk and stood up.

And that was when he had noticed the noticed the moss on the tree glowing, the birds chirping around his head and the branches curved above him to give him shelter from the rain which he hadn’t even noticed in his panic.

He had stood entranced, pain forgotten as the vegetation around him seemed to come to life. As he looked on, a blue butterfly had appeared and flitted before him. He had reached forward and tried to touch the butterfly, but it had moved. He followed it until he saw his home and heard his mother’s cries of “MERLIN!”

He never forgot about that day. The day nature had helped him when he was lost and in pain.

……

It was the birds that woke him up this time. Not his clumsy manservant tripping over the carpet, or the smell of freshly cooked sausage, not even the sun as it shown upon his face. No. It was birds.

When he opened his eyes, he almost immediately closed them again. What did he just see? Merlin standing by his open window whilst three blue birds fluttered before him chirping. The weird part was that merlin was responding as if they could understand him. Weird but adorable - just like his head as he turned to keep them all in his sights, his smile wide and eyes glimmering-

And ok. Arthur clearly needed more sleep if this was what he was thinking after waking up. In any case, that wasn’t going to happen if those damned birds kept chirping merrily away at his manservant.

“Merlin.” He mumbled, placing his hands over his eyes to block the bright sun.

Nothing.

“Merlin” he groused in a louder voice.

Still nothing.

“Merlin!” He huffed finally looking at the window.

Merlin jumped and spun around quickly with a sheepish smile.

“Yes Arthur?”

Arthur stared at him for a moment with a frown. Leave it to his manservant to act like nothing was weird about what he had woken up to. Well, if that was how he wanted to play it, so be it. 

“Where’s my breakfast?” Arthur asked, coking his eyebrow at Merlin

Merlin toothily smiled at him before backing towards the door, “On the table sire.”

He stared at merlin for a long second before slowly asking, “and why is still there?”

“Because you’re too lazy to get out of bed.” Merlin cheekily replied

“MERLIN!” He roared, jumping out of bed and reaching for his manservant who ducked away with a practice ease and slipped through the door. 

“Enjoy your breakfast sire!”

He stared at the closed door annoyed but he couldn’t help but smile. Damn Merlin. How could he make him smile even when he was tired and grumpy?

Speaking of, how did he get a manservant who was weird enough to talk to birds? And why did they come to his window in the morning as if they knew Merlin would be there? It wasn’t the first-time animals had responded to Merlin like that either. Maybe he should look further into that?

He shook his head and moved towards the table. He was too tired to deal with this. 

At least the birds had stopped chirping now.

…….

Merlin glared at the stableboy from his place in the next stall. The stableboy was brushing too hard and the poor horse kept trying to move away but wasn’t allowed. Merlin felt angry at his treatment. Didn’t the boy know that Rose was a gentle horse and needed to be treated as such?

Llamrei snorted next to him as if to say, “are you going to do something about it or just sit here and glare?”

Sometimes he hated that smug horse. Perfect match for his master he was. They were both major bastards all right.

In any case though, he was right. He brushed his hand over Llamrei’s mane once more before heading towards the stableboy.

“What do you think you’re doing?” He asked angrily, coming to a stop before the boy’s stall.

“Brushing this horse, what does it look like I’m doing?” The boy answered rudely. He glared at the boy whose name he believed was Cameron or something similar and opened his mouth too retort.

He was interrupted by Rose, who had taken the pause in brushing because of their conversation as a means to escape.

“Shit” Cameron swore as he darted after Rose, leaving Merlin to blink rapidly before he too ran after the horse.

He ran into the sunlight to see Rose standing next to the well and Cameron’s hand gripping her mane tightly. He felt anger fill him again and he wished that Cameron would just let go.

Suddenly water dribbled from over the top of the well and onto Cameron’s feet making him flinch. He dropped his hands and stared down in astonishment. 

Merlin looked on as shocked as Cameron, before bursting into laughter as Rose knocked into Cameron deliberately, making him slip in the water pooling at his feet and fall into the mud. Rose then trotted up to Merlin with her head held high, looking pleased as punch.

Merlin couldn’t help but agree. Rose was a smart horse indeed. He leaned forward and rested his forehead on hers and chucked lightly, before turning to lead her back into the stables. He was happy that Rose was ok, but he couldn’t help but wonder where the water came from. He had checked the well before he went to brush Llamrei and knew that it was far from full. Definitely not enough in it to overflow.

Oh well. He was just lucky he guessed.

From behind him he heard Cameron cursing loudly as water kept spilling, making him fall every time he tried to stand. 

……

Merlin shivered as wind started to rush through the clearing.

Arthur looked on worried. He hadn’t realised that his foolish manservant hadn’t packed anything warmer than his normal hunting clothes. He didn’t want him to freeze but none of his knights had any spare blankets.

He turned to look at Gwaine next to him worried, but the man only smiled reassuringly. “He’ll be fine don’t worry.”

Arthur frowned, “How are you so sure? He doesn’t have anything warmer to put on!”

Gwaine raised his eyebrows at him, “you haven’t noticed?”

Arthur stared at him in confusion and building annoyance, “Noticed what?” He growled out.

“Merlin almost never does and yet he’s always fine. All the knights and even me would freeze wearing the things he does and yet he doesn’t even catch a cold. It’s like nature loves him.”

Arthur turned to look at Merlin again. He was startled to see that Gwaine appeared to be right. Merlin looked completely at ease now, even warm. He stood up and walked towards Merlin’s bedroll.

“Arthur?” Merlin asked confused as Arthur stopped in front of him.

“It’s warm here.”

“Yes?” Merlin questioned

“Why is it warm?” He narrowed his eyes

“...I don’t know?” Merlin replied starting to look worried for his king.

“Hm” Arthur muttered before turning around and walking back to Gwaine. The man in questioned simply raised his eyebrows before turning back to Lancelot on the other side and starting a conversation.

Arthur sat down and felt his mind whir. It was definitely colder here. And he knew that it was cold in the clearing from when he had cleared it of bandits. So why was Merlin’s area warmer and – he looked again as wind brushed against him – wind free as well? First the birds, then the well incident he had heard of from Joseph his favourite stable hand and now this? What was it about Merlin and nature?

He sat and thought for a while but no logic came to mind so he brushed it off and decide that it must simply be a coincidence he is reading too much into.

……

Merlin laughed as the fish jumped from the stream in arcs of glistening color. It was his first day off in months and he was sitting by a river in Camelot’s surrounding forest to relax. He looked around to check he was alone before putting his hand under the cool glistening water and letting it pool in his palms before he lifted his hand out. 

Muttering a few soft words, some of the water in his hand shaped itself into a replica of the fish in the actual river and starting to jump in arcs along his fingers. He giggled, the sound bubbling out of him without thought as childish glee filled him.

He didn’t notice but the trees rustled happily around him as deer’s and bunnies came out to watch the man who glowed so brightly with laughter along a simple stream.

…..

They kissed and Arthur felt like the world went silent for a moment. The tress above their heads stopped swaying, the birds stopped whistling and the wind fell quiet. 

He pulled away and opened his eyes.

And then all at once, the world exploded back into itself. The grass swayed around their feet and butterflies flew around them. Sunlight warmed his face as if it were summer again, and he felt himself smile.

He looked to Merlin and gasped. Merlin’s eyes were a shining bright blue, and he had the biggest smile on his face.

Arthur didn’t think he had ever seen anything as beautiful in his entire life before.

The wind swirled around them as birds flew above their heads, but Arthur barely noticed notice. All that mattered was the man in front of him. The man that he was pretty sure he was falling in love with.

Merlin smiled at him, dimples showing, and he surged forward once more to press their lips together.

Yes, nature seemed to love Merlin, but he couldn’t judge. How could he, when he was falling just as much in love with Merlin too?


End file.
